Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BAGHDAD1833
2006-05-31 13:05:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:
SADR CITY RESIDENTS COMPLAIN ABOUT SECURITY
VZCZCXRO2957 PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHMOS DE RUEHGB #1833/01 1511305 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 311305Z MAY 06 FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0485 RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4808 INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001833
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2016
TAGS: PHUM PNAT KDEM IZ PGOV
SUBJECT: SADR CITY RESIDENTS COMPLAIN ABOUT SECURITY
REF: BAGHDAD 01684
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001833
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2016
TAGS: PHUM PNAT KDEM IZ PGOV
SUBJECT: SADR CITY RESIDENTS COMPLAIN ABOUT SECURITY
REF: BAGHDAD 01684
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD
1. (C) At a May 25 meeting, five Sadr City residents
told PolOffs that they were disappointed the security
situation had not improved over the past year, and not
hopeful that it would improve in the upcoming months.
"You can not even trust your own neighbor these days,"
said Huda, a young female resident who noted that the
influx of displaced Shia moving into Sadr City had
made the neighborhoods more anonymous. A middle-aged
Sayyed (i.e., descendant of the Prophet Mohammad)
agreed and added that the Jafari government had not
been able to help with security and so he did not have
high expectations for the next government. One female
resident in her early forties said that the situation
was worse for women than men because every day they
lived in fear that their husbands, sons, or brothers
would not come home. A resident working at the
General Information Center (GIC) said family anxieties
over missing relatives was a situation he faced often,
especially since the families are never certain
whether their relatives had been kidnapped or arrested
by Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).
--------------
SECURITY POOR, RESIDENTS MISS NEIGHBORLINESS
--------------
2. (C) During the session, all five residents told
PolOffs that they lived their days worried about
security either from car bombs, gunfights or any other
violent activity. They all agreed that every Sadr
City resident now lives in fear of their neighbors.
Gone, they said, were the days when they lived next to
the same neighbors for 20 years and developed a deep
sense of mutual trust. With many displaced Shia
moving into Sadr City (ref),said Huda, the neighbors
are even more anonymous and it is hard to know whether
they mean well or not. Another female resident in her
forties bemoaned the days when neighbors were close
and when other groups such as Sabeans and Christians
lived in the area, side by side with Shia.
3. (C) The Shia residents characterized the police in
Sadr City as ineffective, but insisted that they were
not an object of fear. When the topic of militias
came up, one member of the group asserted that
militias did not exist in Sadr City despite another
member having just mentioned the Jaysh al-Mehdi in
passing moments before. In an aside to PolOff, one of
the male members commented that because of fear, many
residents will not admit the existence of the militias
in the presence of US personnel.
--------------
MISSING OR DETAINED?
--------------
4. (C) A resident working at the GIC who identified
himself as Nsaif told Poloff that every weekend,
families stream in to the District Council's office to
report missing family members. The families fill out
forms but often are unsuccessful in locating their
family members. Nsaif said that according to the
accounts from the reporting residents, many of those
missing appear to have been detained by Iraqi security
forces. In such cases he said, it is almost
impossible to discover the location of the missing
persons. He expressed frustration with the ISF's
inability to adequately track the location or even
existence of their detainees. The worst part for the
families, he said, is not knowing if missing family
members are alive or dead.
--------------
DAILY LIVING AS IMPORTANT AS SECURITY
--------------
5. (C) The residents all agreed that lack of
electricity and other basic services was one of the
worst problems they faced in daily life. One resident
noted that electricity was only available four hours
per day. One elderly gentleman took out a plastic bag
filled with medicines and complained that he had
trouble getting medical care and could barely afford
his medicine. Another complained that her property
had been damaged in a gunfight, and she still suffered
the trauma of that day and of having to leave a
BAGHDAD 00001833 002 OF 002
property too damaged to live in. All the residents
made a plea that the US help provide services to their
community.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------
6. (C) The participants of the group included three
males ranging in age from 30 to 70, one woman in her
twenties and a second woman in her forties. Some of
the participants refused to give their names. Because
this group was not large, it does not necessarily
portray a complete picture of how Sadr City residents
feel. We came away from this meeting, however, with
the impression of a diminished sense of hope compared
with previous Sadr City meetings that we have
conducted. We also found noteworthy the apparent lack
of interest in the new government. None of the
residents were interested in talking about the new
government or willing to express a strong opinion.
They appeared more concerned with the day to day
problems they are facing.
KHALILZAD
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2016
TAGS: PHUM PNAT KDEM IZ PGOV
SUBJECT: SADR CITY RESIDENTS COMPLAIN ABOUT SECURITY
REF: BAGHDAD 01684
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD
1. (C) At a May 25 meeting, five Sadr City residents
told PolOffs that they were disappointed the security
situation had not improved over the past year, and not
hopeful that it would improve in the upcoming months.
"You can not even trust your own neighbor these days,"
said Huda, a young female resident who noted that the
influx of displaced Shia moving into Sadr City had
made the neighborhoods more anonymous. A middle-aged
Sayyed (i.e., descendant of the Prophet Mohammad)
agreed and added that the Jafari government had not
been able to help with security and so he did not have
high expectations for the next government. One female
resident in her early forties said that the situation
was worse for women than men because every day they
lived in fear that their husbands, sons, or brothers
would not come home. A resident working at the
General Information Center (GIC) said family anxieties
over missing relatives was a situation he faced often,
especially since the families are never certain
whether their relatives had been kidnapped or arrested
by Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).
--------------
SECURITY POOR, RESIDENTS MISS NEIGHBORLINESS
--------------
2. (C) During the session, all five residents told
PolOffs that they lived their days worried about
security either from car bombs, gunfights or any other
violent activity. They all agreed that every Sadr
City resident now lives in fear of their neighbors.
Gone, they said, were the days when they lived next to
the same neighbors for 20 years and developed a deep
sense of mutual trust. With many displaced Shia
moving into Sadr City (ref),said Huda, the neighbors
are even more anonymous and it is hard to know whether
they mean well or not. Another female resident in her
forties bemoaned the days when neighbors were close
and when other groups such as Sabeans and Christians
lived in the area, side by side with Shia.
3. (C) The Shia residents characterized the police in
Sadr City as ineffective, but insisted that they were
not an object of fear. When the topic of militias
came up, one member of the group asserted that
militias did not exist in Sadr City despite another
member having just mentioned the Jaysh al-Mehdi in
passing moments before. In an aside to PolOff, one of
the male members commented that because of fear, many
residents will not admit the existence of the militias
in the presence of US personnel.
--------------
MISSING OR DETAINED?
--------------
4. (C) A resident working at the GIC who identified
himself as Nsaif told Poloff that every weekend,
families stream in to the District Council's office to
report missing family members. The families fill out
forms but often are unsuccessful in locating their
family members. Nsaif said that according to the
accounts from the reporting residents, many of those
missing appear to have been detained by Iraqi security
forces. In such cases he said, it is almost
impossible to discover the location of the missing
persons. He expressed frustration with the ISF's
inability to adequately track the location or even
existence of their detainees. The worst part for the
families, he said, is not knowing if missing family
members are alive or dead.
--------------
DAILY LIVING AS IMPORTANT AS SECURITY
--------------
5. (C) The residents all agreed that lack of
electricity and other basic services was one of the
worst problems they faced in daily life. One resident
noted that electricity was only available four hours
per day. One elderly gentleman took out a plastic bag
filled with medicines and complained that he had
trouble getting medical care and could barely afford
his medicine. Another complained that her property
had been damaged in a gunfight, and she still suffered
the trauma of that day and of having to leave a
BAGHDAD 00001833 002 OF 002
property too damaged to live in. All the residents
made a plea that the US help provide services to their
community.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------
6. (C) The participants of the group included three
males ranging in age from 30 to 70, one woman in her
twenties and a second woman in her forties. Some of
the participants refused to give their names. Because
this group was not large, it does not necessarily
portray a complete picture of how Sadr City residents
feel. We came away from this meeting, however, with
the impression of a diminished sense of hope compared
with previous Sadr City meetings that we have
conducted. We also found noteworthy the apparent lack
of interest in the new government. None of the
residents were interested in talking about the new
government or willing to express a strong opinion.
They appeared more concerned with the day to day
problems they are facing.
KHALILZAD